Some smokers can blame their genes

WASHINGTON -- President Obama — pronounced tobacco-free in his latest medical checkup — has tough words for cigarette makers.
Some tobacco companies, he says in a new White House web video, are fighting new cigarette warning labels because "they don't want to be honest about the consequences."


The video, provided to The Associated Press in advance of its release, observes Thursday's 36th "Great American Smokeout" by the American Cancer Society.


Mr. Obama says the country has made progress in reducing the number of Americans who smoke, but notes that 46 million are still addicted.


"The fact is, quitting smoking is hard," he says. "Believe me, I know."


Mr. Obama has fought the habit by chewing nicotine gum, and his last medical report, issued Oct. 31, declared him tobacco-free.


"Tobacco remains the leading cause of preventable early deaths in this country," Mr. Obama says in the video. "We also know that the best way to prevent the health problems that come with smoking is to keep young people from starting in the first place."


In 2009, Mr. Obama signed legislation to help keep young people from lighting up. In June, the Food and Drug Administration approved new warning labels that companies would have to place on the top half of cigarette packs. Some of the labels are powerfully graphic and include images of a man exhaling cigarette smoke through a tracheotomy hole in his throat, the corpse of a dead smoker, diseased lungs and a smoker wearing an oxygen mask.


Companies led by R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. and Lorillard Tobacco Co. sued the FDA in August to block the labels, arguing the labels cross the line from fact-based warnings to anti-smoking advocacy. Altria Group Inc., parent company of Marlboro maker Philip Morris USA, is not in the lawsuit.


Thursday marks the 36th annual Great American Smokeout. To be sure, the dire health consequences of smoking are well-known, and many adults have quit over the past four decades. But some individuals have great difficulty quitting. The new study, by researchers at the University of Colorado, examined adult twins to look for a genetic influence in tobacco addiction.


The study, of 596 twin pairs, showed that adult identical twins (who share the same genes) are much more likely to quit smoking at the same time compared with fraternal twins (who do not have the same gene structure). Among identical twins, 65% of twins quit during a two-year time frame compared to 55% of fraternal twins. That suggests a genetic component, a co-author of the study, sociologist Fred Pampel, said in a news release.


"These days people don't smoke for social reasons," he said. "They, in fact, face criticism for the habit but tend to smoke because of their dependence on nicotine."


While laws that ban smoking in public places have put pressure on people to quit, that's probably not enough for some smokers, he said.


Anti-smoking laws and policies "may be effective in prodding social smokers with genetic resilience to quit but may do less to help genetically vulnerable smokers quit."


The article will appear this month in the journal Demography. Information on smoking cessation can be found at the American Cancer Society's smokeout page.